Tesla announced Monday that first quarter sales of the Model S exceeded expectations and the company expects to turn a profit. Tesla expected to sell 4,500 Model S cars, but sales as of April 1 exceeded 4,750 automobiles.
"There have been many car startups over the past several decades, but profitability is what makes a company real," co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a late Sunday statement. "Tesla is here to stay and keep fighting for the electric car revolution."
In a move that Musk claimed was "arguably more important" than turning its first-ever profit, Tesla, Wells Fargo, and US Bank announced a financing partnership. TechCrunch explains that the "true net out of pocket cost" for a Model S under this structure would be less than $500:
The company says that this is a new kind of financing product that “combines the surety and comfort of ownership with all the advantages of a traditional lease.” So while this isn’t a straight-up lease, this is a hybrid that is as close to owning one of these cars as you’re going to get without paying cash for it.
Read more about the new financing structure here.